Status quo at the UN: the ambassadors of the former Burmese and Afghan regimes keep their seats

Afghan Ambassador to the UN Ghulam Isaczai, appointed before the Taliban took power in Kabul, here at UN headquarters in New York on August 16, 2021. AFP - TIMOTHY A. CLARY

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Since September, the regimes of the generals in Burma and the Taliban in Afghanistan have asked for new ambassadors to represent them at the UN headquarters in New York.

But the international community continues to drag its feet.

On Monday, December 6, the member countries decided by consensus not to decide yet and to continue to wait before making a decision.

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With our correspondent in New York,

Carrie Nooten

Doubling in ambassadors to New York appointed by the junta in Burma and by

the Taliban in Afghanistan

would implicitly mean, for the international community, to recognize these regimes.

However, diplomats are trying to keep a few levers on those who took power by force this year in these two countries, while their futures are still uncertain.

The UN ambassadors thus managed to come to an understanding so as not to rush things.

In committee first - and this while China, Russia and the United States are part of this group of nine countries responsible for deciding these thorny issues of accreditation.

Then this decision on Monday, this time by consensus in the General Assembly.

This clearly shows the tweezers that the international community wants to continue to take.

No appointment has been confirmed, it is

the ambassadors of the old regimes who continue to occupy their seats

... Critics have fired on the Afghan and Burmese side.

However, the seats retained in New York after power reversals, as we have seen on several occasions throughout history: Taiwan thus occupied the seat reserved for China, and the Taliban, moreover, never managed to impose their ambassador when they held Afghanistan between 1996 and 2001.

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To read also: 

Afghanistan: the Taliban deny the accusations of summary executions

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  • UN

  • Afghanistan

  • Burma

  • Diplomacy